CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Thunderbird football team will look to build on their 51-14 victory at Stephen F. Austin last weekend as they host their home opener this week against No. 18/21 Northern Iowa in SUU's Salute to Heroes Game.

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds score frequently and with explosion last Saturday, as they left Nacogdoches, Texas with a 37-point victory.

In the span of 10 minutes of game time, the Thunderbirds put four touchdowns on the board to break out to a 28-0 lead. The T-Birds added a field goal before the end of the first half to head into the break with a 31-0 lead.

Despite the Lumberjacks striking first to start the second half, the Thunderbirds ran away with the game 51-14.

Air It Out

SUU quarterback Patrick Tyler had quite a game on Saturday, and has been a great leader for the Thunderbirds this season.  

He threw for 414 yards and four touchdowns against Stephen F. Austin, and also carried the ball for 48 yards and a touchdown. He also connected with Landen Measom for a 96-yard touchdown pass, which tied for the longest completion through the air is Southern Utah History.

Tyler currently leads the Big Sky Conference in total offense, with 676 combined yards so far this season.

On Monday, Tyler was recognized as ROOT SPORTS Offensive Player of the Week by the Big Sky Conference for his performances against the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin.

The Thunderbirds are currently fifth in the FCS in the passing offense category, with an average of 342 per game. Tyler himself is sixth in the FCS with his combined passing yards.

Kickin' It

Freshman kicker Manny Berz garnered a lot of attention on National Signing Day last year, as the five-star product elected to compete for Southern Utah. The decision has paid off quick, as this week he was named ROOT SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week by the Big Sky Conference.

Berz knocked in his first field goal as a Thunderbird with 10 seconds left in the opening half in Nacogdoches, hitting one from 23 yards out. He went on to knock home two more field goals during the course of the game, one from 39 yards and the other from 28.

Berz is fourth in the Big Sky Conference in scoring, hitting three field goals and nine extra points.

Words From Coach Warren

On what his biggest takeaway from the victory at Stephen F. Austin….

"We've got a lot of guys that are going to work hard no matter what the situation is, and I thought we had a great week of practice after getting embarrassed a little bit by Oregon," SUU head coach Demario Warren said. "So, I was excited to see the hard work, effort and concentration after a loss. I think we know we've got bounce-back in our DNA, and we can bounce back from any situation."

On what Patrick Tyler has able to do this season…..

"He's doing the same thing he did last year for us," he said. "He's taking care of the football, he's being explosive down the field and I think the competition between him and Aaron (Zwahlen) really pushed both of them to be better quarterbacks. I was surprised how much better both of those guys got over the last eight months."

On what has impressed him about Northern Iowa on film…..

"They're nasty, they have a nasty O-line that gets after you, they're going to try and blow you off the ball and they're going to fight to the whistle," he said. "They've got a dynamic receiver [Daurice Fountain] and their quarterback [Eli Dunne] is probably one of the better quarterbacks in the country at our level, so they'll be a big test. Defensively, they've been great for a long, long time. They play hard, they play physical and they give great effort. We're going to have to really execute on offense if we want to move the football."

Opponent Preview: No. 18 Northern Iowa

The No. 18/21 Panthers will enter Saturday's competition with a 1-1 overall record, after picking up a victory 45-38 victory over Cal Poly last weekend. The contest went into overtime, but the Panthers were able to bounce back from an opening week loss to Iowa State.

UNI's quarterback Eli Dunne threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns last Saturday, with 25 completions and a long of 36 yards.

Wide receiver Briley Moore caught seven passes for 99 yards against Briley Moore. Daurice Fountain pulled in five balls for 75 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, Duncan Ferch had 15 tackles and a tackle for loss against Cal Poly. Hezekiah Applegate had two tackles for loss and a sack and Adam Reth had 14 total tackles for the Panthers.

Northern Iowa will come into Cedar City holding the No. 18 spot in the FCS Coaches Poll, moving up three spots from the previous week. They also sit at No. 21 in the STATS FCS Top 25.  

The Panthers have the 13th ranked passing offense in the FCS.

UNI currently has a 53-25-1 record against the Big Sky Conference.   

Salute To Heroes

This weekend's game will be SUU's Salute To Heroes game. The SUU Athletic Department will be honoring local military and first responders at Saturday's game.

Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

Saturday will the Thunderbird football team's debut on PlutoTV, the new streaming partner for the Big Sky Conference. Fans are encouraged to download the PlutoTV App, or visit pluto.tv/watch and tune into Channel 236.

The game can be also heard locally on KSUB 590 AM with Art Challis and Devin Dixon on the call.

Links to live stats will be available on suutbirds.com prior to the start of the game.

Follow Us

Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook.

Tickets / Tailgating

Tickets for SUU's home opener against Northern Iowa and Season Tickets can be purchased at tbirdtickets.com or at the Centrum Ticket Office.

Tailgating for Saturday's home game will start at roughly 4 p.m. There will also be Food Trucks on available pre-game on 1150 West before fans enter the stadium.